Initially the Fraser Brace Company (of Berlin, New Hampshire, U.S. which will take the name of Brown Corporation in Canada) in charge of the construction works had planned to establish the center of construction operations of the La Loutre dam at Weymontachie on the north shore of the Saint-Maurice River; however, the Hudson's Bay Company refused access to their land citing the risk to the fur herds.
Consequently, the general construction contractor set up his site operations center on the south shore of the Saint-Maurice by founding the forest village of "Sanmaur" in 1914.
[4] A dike was then built between Sanmaur and Weymontachie in order to raise the water level upstream, facilitating the transport by boats and barges of workers, machinery and equipment.
Before the construction of the La Loutre dam, the Saint-Maurice River originated at Du Mâle Lake (Gouin Reservoir).
The toponym "La Loutre dam" was formalized on June 6, 1973, at the Commission de toponymie du Québec.